Unit-02/Lecture-01 Control Unit Organization Control unit The control unit is a component of a computer's central processing unit (CPU) that directs operation of the processor. It tells the computer's memory, arithmetic/logic unit and input and output devices how to respond to a program's instructions. It directs the operation of the other units by providing timing and control signals.[citation needed] All computer resources are managed by the CU (Control Unit).[citation needed] It directs the flow of data between the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and the other devices. John von Neumann included the control unit as part of the von Neumann architecture. In modern computer designs, the control unit is typically an internal part of the CPU with its overall role and operation unchanged. Functions of the Control Unit The Control Unit is the circuitry that controls the flow of data through the processor, and coordinates the activities of the other units within it.[citation needed] In a way, it is the "brain within the brain", as it controls what happens inside the processor, which in turn controls the rest of the computer.[citation needed] The examples of devices that require a Control Unit are CPUs and graphics processing units (GPUs).[citation needed] The Control Unit receives external instructions or commands which it converts into a sequence of control signals that the Control Unit applies to the data path to implement a sequence of register-transfer level operations Control Unit. The Control Unit (CU) is generally a sizable collection of complex digital circuitry interconnecting and controlling the many execution units contained within a CPU.[citation needed] The CU is normally the first CPU unit to accept from an externally stored computer program, a single instruction, based on the CPU’s instruction set, then decode this individual instruction into several sequential steps (fetching addresses/data from registers/memory, managing execution [i.e. data sent to the ALU or I/O], and storing the resulting data back into registers/memory) that controls and coordinates the CPU’s interworks.[citation needed] These detailed steps from the CU dictate we dont take any liability for the notes correctness. http://www.rgpvonline.com which of the numerous CPU’s interconnecting hardware control signals to enable/disable or which CPU units are selected/de-selected and the unit’s proper order of execution as required by the instruction’s operation.[citation needed] Additionally, the CU’s orderly hardware coordination properly sequences these control signals then configures the many hardware units comprising the CPU, directing how data should also be moved, changed, and stored outside the CPU (i.e. memory) according to the instruction’s objective.[citation needed] Depending on the type of instruction entering the CU, the order and number of sequential steps produced by the CU could vary the selection and configuration of which parts of the CPU’s hardware are utilized to achieve the instruction's objective (mainly moving, storing, and modifying data within the CPU).[citation needed] This one feature, that efficiently uses just software instructions to control/select/configure a computer’s CPU hardware (via the CU) and eventually manipulates a program’s data, is a significant reason most modern computers are flexible and universal when running various programs. As compared to some 1930s or 1940s computers without a proper CU, they often required rewiring their hardware when changing programs.[citation needed] This CU instruction decode process is then repeated when the Program Counter is incremented to the next stored program address and the new instruction enters the CU from that address, and so on till the programs end. Other more advanced forms of Control Units manage the translation of instructions (but not the data containing portion) into several micro-instructions and the CU manages the scheduling of the micro-instructions between the selected execution units to which the data is then channeled and changed according to the execution unit’s function (i.e., ALU contains several functions).[citation needed] On some processors, the Control Unit may be further broken down into additional units, such as an instruction unit or scheduling unit to handle scheduling, or a retirement unit to deal with results coming from the instruction pipeline.[citation needed] Again, the Control Unit orchestrates the main functions of the CPU: carrying out stored instructions in the software program then directing the flow of data throughout the computer based upon these instructions (roughly likened to how traffic lights will systematically control the flow of cars [containing data] to different locations within the traffic grid [CPU] until it parks at the desired parking spot [memory address/register].[citation needed] The car occupants [data] then go into the building [execution unit] and comes back changed in some way then get back into the car and returns to another location via the controlled traffic grid). we dont take any liability for the notes correctness. http://www.rgpvonline.com Fig 2.1 Combinational Logic Circuits Hardwired control unit Hardwired control units are implemented through use of sequential logic units, featuring a finite number of gates that can generate specific results based on the instructions that were used to invoke those responses. Hardwired control units are generally faster than micro programmed designs. Their design uses a fixed architecture—it requires changes in the wiring if the instruction set is modified or changed.[citation needed] This architecture is preferred in reduced instruction set computers (RISC) as they use a simpler instruction set. A controller that uses this approach can operate at high speed; however, it has little flexibility, and the complexity of the instruction set it can implement is limited. The hardwired approach has become less popular as computers have evolved. Previously, control units for CPUs used ad-hoc logic, and they were difficult to design. Micro program control unit: The idea of microprogramming was introduced by Maurice Wilkes in 1951 as an intermediate level to execute computer program instructions. Micro programs were organized as a sequence of microinstructions and stored in special control memory. The algorithm for the micro program we dont take any liability for the notes correctness. http://www.rgpvonline.com control unit is usually specified by flowchart description.[4] The main advantage of the micro program control unit is the simplicity of its structure. Outputs of the controller are organized in microinstructions and they can be easily replaced. we dont take any liability for the notes correctness. http://www.rgpvonline.com Fig RGPV QUESTIONS Year Marks 2.2S.NO Q.1 Discuss in brief microprogram control unit and June 2012 7 hardwired control unit? Q.2 What is need of control unit in a computer? Dec 2010 4 we dont take any liability for the notes correctness. http://www.rgpvonline.com Unit-02/Lecture-02 Control Memory The control unit in a digital computer initiates sequences of micro operations. The complexity of the digital system is derived form the number of sequences that are performed When the control signals are generated by hardware, it is hardwired In a bus-oriented system, the control signals that specify micro operations are groups of bits that select the paths in multiplexers, decoders, and ALUs. The control unit initiates a series of sequential steps of micro operations The control variables can be represented by a string of 1’s and 0’s called a control word A micro programmed control unit is a control unit whose binary control variables are stored in memory . The control unit initiates a series of sequential steps of micro operations The control variables can be represented by a string of 1’s and 0’s called a control word A micro programmed control unit is a control unit whose binary control variables are stored in memory A sequence of microinstructions constitutes a micro program The control memory can be a read-only memory Dynamic microprogramming permits a micro program to be loaded and uses a writable control memory A computer with a micro programmed control unit will have two separate memories: a main memory and a control memory The micro program consists of microinstructions that specify various internal control signals for execution of register micro operations These microinstructions generate the micro operations to: fetch the instruction from main memory evaluate the effective address we dont take any liability for the notes correctness. http://www.rgpvonline.com execute the operation Return control to the fetch phase for the next instruction. The control memory address register specifies the address of the microinstruction The control data register holds the microinstruction read from memory The microinstruction contains a control word that specifies one or more Micro operations for the data processor Fig 2.3 Control unit Address Sequencing Microinstructions are usually stored in groups where each group specifies a routine, where each routine specifies how to carry out an instruction. Each routine must be able to branch to the next routine in the sequence. An initial address is loaded into the CAR when power is turned on; this is usually the address of the first microinstruction in the instruction fetch routine. Next, the control unit must determine the effective address of the instruction. When instruction execution is finished, control must be return to the fetch routine. This is done using an unconditional branch. Addressing sequencing capabilities of control memory include Incrementing the CAR Unconditional and conditional branching (depending on status bit).Mapping instruction bits into control memory addresses Handling subroutine calls and returns. Mapping The next step is to generate the micro operations that executed the instruction. This involves we dont take any liability for the notes correctness. http://www.rgpvonline.com taking the instructions op code and transforming it into an address for the instructions micro program in control memory.